Editor, Re: Musings on the Coast, “From the Rearview Mirror“, Nov. 14 edition. I can’t agree more with Michael Ray’s statement “Political parties of any type, stay out of Laguna Beach. We are doing quite nicely without that kind of crap.”...

Editor, “I am writing Mayor Pro Tem Bob Whalen to complain. I urge you to do the same,” Michael Ray wrote in an Oct. 17 column in the Indy. Don’t hold your breath Michael! I wrote Bob twice in November of 2013 explaining to him how Captain Lenyi, the second in command to Paul...

Where Newport Got It Right If you have not yet seen the new Newport Beach Civic Center, go. It is a delight. More, it is a statement: this is the new Newport Beach, a place where giant international companies like Pimco call home. It is sophisticated and modern. The center...

The evening before the Martin Luther King, Jr. national holiday, I dined with my friend William. We met in the bleachers at our sons’ high school games. He is about 45, medium build and black. If I were politically correct, I would use the term African-American, but I am not....

One of the most unsettling things about Orange County is we tend to believe our own bad PR. We tend to believe we are “the sticks.” We are backward. The most intelligent, well-educated, successful people do not live here. They live in New York, London, Paris, Silicon Valley,...

The Coming Revolution In Education Lately, it has become fashionable to bash the value of a college education. This is because recent graduates cannot get jobs. There aren’t many jobs and the unemployment rate for newly minted graduates in the U.S. is about 20%. We are...

Since nearly everyone I know is weighing in on the proposed new village entrance, so will I. But first a note on my qualifications: I am a property developer. I know how to build parking structures and I know about soil problems. My opinion about such matters is educated. I am...

Editor, I have followed Michael Ray’s musings forever and so glad he has landed at the LB Indy! This week’s piece (Musings on the Coast, “The Inauguration,” Jan. 18) took me right back to the joyous, proud-full, elated, tearful feeling I had at last year’s...

By Howard Hills Through his thoughtful commentaries Michael Ray is a sincere and valued voice in our town’s civic discourse. His reflections on the year 2012 (Indy, Dec. 9) invite dialogue. Ray describes the process for casting votes in the Electoral College as “boring.”...

Editor, Re: Michael Ray’s columns Musings on the Coast and “The New Prohibitionists”. It is sad but so very true… The scenario he described is going to happen if the SHO ordinance is passed. What a tragedy it will be. I am a parent of three sons all under the drinking age....

Jason, my teenage friend, I know you are dead and cannot read this letter, but I had to write it anyway. You just wanted to go drinking with your friends. Then you foolishly got behind the wheel and got yourself killed, and killed two innocents in the process. I am dreadfully...

I urge Laguna Beach citizens to vote “yes” on Measure CC because our very quality of life is the issue. It is about creating open space within Laguna Beach forever. Some background. In 1990, our city cut a deal with the Irvine Company to buy some 2,000 acres comprising the open...

Finding Locals in Unlikely Places By Madeline Knutson, Special to the Independent Day 3 of the Democratic National Convention filled with stress, excitement, and pure American patriotism. I was not in possession of a credential to enter the arena due to the venue change. The...

By Madeline Knutson, Special to the Independent Tonight I attended the first night of the Democratic National Convention, which definitely did not disappoint! I heard from many different speakers on issues crucial to the campaign, such as equal pay, the right to choose, and the...